 Satellite imagery of Centinela mine from 2018. | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Centinela mine  Centinela mine | |
| Location | Sierra Gorda |
| Region | Antofagasta Region |
| Country | Chile |
| Coordinates | 22°58′30.56″S69°3′41.11″W / 22.9751556°S 69.0614194°W |
| Production | |
| Products | Copper, gold, molybdenum |
| Production | 162,700 tonnes copper concentrate 79,300 tons copper cathodes 900 tons of molybdenum 165,800 ounces gold |
| Financial year | 2023 |
| History | |
| Opened | 2014 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Antofagasta Minerals (70%) Marubeni Copper Holdings Limited (30%) |
The Centinela mine, formerly known as Esperanza mine, [1] is a large open pit copper and gold mine located in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. [1] [2] More precisely it lies in the commune of Sierra Gorda in the Antofagasta Region. [1] [2] As of 2023 it employed on average 9,115 workers, including contractors. [2] It relies exclusively on desalinized water for its operation and mineral processing. [2] In 2023, with a gold production of 5,103 kg it ranked second on gold production in Chile after Escondida. [3] The company operating the mine, Minera Centinela emerged from the fusion of Minera Esperanza and Minera El Tesoro, and is controlled by Antofagasta Minerals [4] [5] Minera Centinela holds the international certificates of; The Copper Mark, Moly Mark and ISO 9001:201. [5]
Copper in the mine is found in copper sulfide and iron-copper sulfide minerals. [1] The porphyry hosting copper and gold is mostly surrounded by andesite with some lesser volumes of dacite in the central part of the pit. [1] Most faults that cross the mine area runns NE-SW and are deeply dipping to the southeast. [1]
The mine's produce is largely exported as ore concentrate that contained as of 2020 an estimate of 34% chalcopyrite, 16% chalcocite, 35% pyrite and 1% pyrrhotite. [6]
Construction of the mine begun in 2008 and it then started to produce in 2011. [1] As of 2016 the mine had plans to remain operative until at least 2060. [1] On August 2025 the mine begun to develop a new opeen pit known as Encuentro Sulfuros. [7]